General Information

• International Title: Oldboy
• Original Title: 올드보이 (romanization: Oldeuboi)
• Genre: Action, Neo-noir, Thriller
• Runtime: 120 minutes
• Released Date: 2003.11.21
• Production: Show East
• International Distributor: Show East, Netflix
• Starring: Choi Min Sik, Yoo Ji Tae, Kang Hye Jung
• Producer: Kim Dong Ju
• Director: Park Chan Wook
• Writer: Hwang Jo Yun, Lim Jun Hyung
• Rating: IMDb (8.4/10) & Rotten Tomatoes (94%)
• Awards: 2004 Cannes Film Festival (Grand Prix)

Synopsis

Oldboy is neo-noir Korean movie portraying a businessman who is deliberately imprisoned in 15 years. While in his private jail, he is only accompanied by television. Through this television, he finds that he is framed for his wife’s homicide. After released from jail, he has 5 days to discover the truth behind his imprisonment.

Main Cast

Character name: Oh Dae Su
Actor name: Choi Min Sik
Choi Min Sik’s notable works: Roaring Currents, Nameless Gangster: Rules of The Time, I Saw the Devil, Sympathy for Lady Vengeance, Taegukgi, etc

Character name: Lee Woo Jin
Actor name: Yoo Ji Tae
Yoo Ji Tae’s notable works: The Swindlers, Sympathy for Lady Vengeance, The House of Paper (drama), When My Love Blooms (drama), Mad Dog (drama), The Good Wife (drama), etc

Character name: Mi Do
Actress name: Kang Hye Jung
Kang Hye Jung’s notable works: Lucid Dream, Sympathy for Lady Vengeance, Jugglers (drama), Miss Ripley (drama), etc

Extended Cast

Kim Byung Ok as Han
Oh Dal Su as Park Cheol Woong
Ji Dae Han as Noh Joo Hwan
Yoon Jin Seo as Lee Soo Ah
Oh Tae Kyung as young Oh Dae Su
Yoo Yeon Seok as young Lee Woo Jin
Woo Il Han as young Noh Joo Hwan
Lee Seung Shin as Yoo Hyung Ja
Yoo Il Han as young Noh Joo Hwan
Oh Gwang Rok as suicidal man
Lee Dae Yeon as beggar
Kim Soo Hyun as chief of staff
Park Jae Woong as Park Cheol Woong’s aide
Lee Hong Pyo as Park Cheol Woong’s aide
Lee Mi Mi as nurse
Choi Jae Sup as guard in 2003
Yong Yi as delivery man

Character Relationship Chart

N/A

Original Soundtrack

Soundtrack album by Jo Yeong Wook

Teaser & Trailer Videos

Awards & Nominations

• 57th Cannes Film Festival: Grand Prix – May 2004
• British Independent Film Awards: Best Foreign Independent Film – 2004
• Bergen International Film Festival: Audience Award – 2004
• Belgian Film Critics Association: Grand Prix – 2005
• 3rd Korean Film Awards: Best Film, Best Director (“Park Chan Wook”), Best Actor (“Choi Min Sik”) – 2004
• 40th Baeksang Arts Awards: Best Director (“Park Chan Wook”) & Best Actor (“Choi Min Sik”) – 2004
• 41st Daejong Awards: Best Director (“Park Chan Wook”), Best Actor (“Choi Min Sik”), Best Editing (“Kim Sang Bum”), Best Lighting (“Park Hyun Won”), Best Music (“Jo Yeong Wook”) – 2004
• 12th Chunsa Film Awards: Special Jury Prize, Best Actor (“Choi Min Sik”), Best Cinematography (“Chung Chung Hoon”), Best Editing (“Kim Sang Bum”) – 2004
• 4th Busan Film Critics Association Awards: Best Picture, Best Director (“Park Chan Wook”), Best Actress (“Kang Hye Jung”), Best Cinematography (“Chung Chung Hoon”) – 2004
• 24th Blue Dragon Film Awards: Best Director (“Park Chan Wook”), Best Actor (“Choi Min Sik”), & Best Supporting Actress (“Kang Hye Jung”) – 2003

Trivia

• Oldboy Korean movie is adapted from Japanese manga with the same title by Garon Tsuchiya and Nobuaki Minegishi
• It is the second movie of Park Chan Wook’s The Vengeance Trilogy beside Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (2002) and Sympathy for Lady Vengeance (2005)
• Oldboy Korean movie won Grand Prix at 57th Cannes Film Festival in 2004 and received appreciation from Hollywood director Quentin Tarantino
• It received appreciation mostly in action scenes which used single shot technique
• Oldboy Korean movie becomes one of the best neo-noir movies during 2000s
• Steven Spielberg was interested to remake this movie in American version starring Will Smith. However, he canceled it in 2009
• The final American remake was directed by Spike Lee and was released on November 27, 2013. However, it received negative reviews